Valve



Patented-Oct. 6, 1942 Y VALVE Earnest J. Dillman and william E. Cowley, Detroit, Mich, assignors to Detroit Lubricator Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan application June 17, 1940, Serial to; 340,866 9 Claims. (Cl. 131-153) Our invention relates generally to valves, and more particularly to valves which control flow of liquid refrigerant to a refrigerating evaporator.

An object of our invention is to provide a selfaligning valve needle.

Another object of our invention is to provide a valve structure in which the valve needle will retain its alignment with the valve seat upon subsequent withdrawal of the needle from the seat after original alignment.

ceived within and closes the central aperture 8 in a fluid-tight manner, such a by peening, as

' at It. The peripheral portion 9 of the platelike member I is sealed, as by solder, to the flange Another object of our invention is to provide a;

valve structure which is economical tomanuiace ture and trouble-free in operation.

The invention consistsin the improved construction and combination of parts, to be more,

fully described hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, to be taken as a part of this specification, there is fully and clearly illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a view in central vertical section of the valve;

Fig. 2 is a view taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows, with the resilient disk removed;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the resilient disk of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial view in central vertical section of a modified form of the invention;

Fig. 5 is 'a partial view in central vertical section of another modified form of the invention,

and

Fig. 6 is an exploded viewof a portion of the valve means of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, and particularly to Fig. 1, the numeral l designates generally a valve casing or body member,'preferab1y a metallic casting, having a triangular, narrow neck portion or extension 2 separating the casting I into an upper or heat exchange member 3 and a lower or'valve casing 4.

An upward diverging or flaring flange 4" extends upward from-the extension 2 and surrounds the upper cylindrical end or hub portion 4' of the casting l. 5 is located within and opens through the lower end 6 of the valve casing 4. A dished, circular, plate-like member 1, which seats on the upper end of the casting I, has a central aperture 8 therethrough and an upturned, continuous flange portion 9 extending from its peripheral edge 9. The hub portion 4 is positioned concentrically 4' and cooperates therewith, and with the hub portion 4', to .form an annular or doughnut like chamber H. The chamber II has an inlet passagewayfl within an inlet boss IZiandopening horizontally through the flange 4 adjacent the neck 2, and which may be connected to a source or fluid supply. An outlet passageway, generally designated l3, leads from the chamber into the v open ended chamber 5, and thence through. a.

laterally extending outlet boss l3? for connection.

to a discharge-pipe and positioned (in theopposite side of th neck 2 from the chamber II.

The passageway l3has its inlet port 13 opening through the side wall of the hub portion .4 cm the opposit side from passageway l2 so that the, fluid must have an extended or circuitous travel through chamber II. A strainer member Hi surrounds the hub portion 4? within the chamber II and is held in position by anannular rib IS on the member I and a shoulder l5 on the flange 4', so that it is interposed intermediate the inlet.

passageway l2 and the outlet passageway l3, and acts to stop any foreign matter which may be entrained in the fluid from entering the passageway l3 and clogging the passageway or valve port l5 through a seat member [6 screw-threaded into the passageway l3 through the upper end wall .of and at the entrance to the chamber 5..

The chamber 5 is closed at its open lower end portion by a closure member ll screw-threaded, as at l8, into the chamber 5 and sealed, as by solder,-to the lower end 6 of the casting l. A bolt-like adjustment member H! has an externally threaded portion 20 which is received by An open ended cylindrical chamber within the flang 4*, and at its top end is rean internally threaded portion 2| of an aperture 22 whichextends centrally through the member I! and opens into the chamber 5. The adjustment member l9 extends upward from the portion 2| through the aperture 22 toward the chamber 5, and terminates in a cone-shaped portion 23. Fluid flow through the aperture 22 along the member I9 is prevented by means of a packing material 23 which surrounds the member I9 adjacent the'portion 23 and is held under compression between annular washer members 24, 25 which are held against shoulders in the aperture 22. shoulder by the expansive force of the compressed packing material, and the member .25 is held against its shoulder by a peened portion 28. The packing material is preferably such that it is The member 24 is held against its not affected by the application of heat necessary flow of fluid from the chamber past the adjustment member l9. Downward movement of the member I9 is limited by the engagement :of a flange portion 26b, carried by the member IS, with the washer member 25 so that in a ustment the member Hi can not be removed -from the closure member l1 and packing material. A tubular valve carrier or housing member 21 having an end wall 28 facing the upper endwall of chamber 5 is guided for reciprocal movement within the chamber 5 and has rigidly secured therein against a downward facing shoulder 28 thereof, as a press-fit, a flanged annular member 29. The horizontal end flange of member 29 is spaced by the shoulder 28 from thewall 28 so that it cooperates with the wall 28 to form a pair of spaced abutments or shoulders 38, 3|. A second tubular valve carrier member 32 is loosely received within the annular member 29 and has a flange portion 33 located intermediate the spaced abutments 38, 3| and seating on the abutment or flange 3|. The bore 'of the tubular member 32 is screw-threaded to adjustably receive the screw-threaded stem of a valve member 35 having a conical valve end portion 36 engageable with seat member l6 and controlling the port l5. A pair of oppositely positioned upstanding ears 31 on the inner periphery of flange 3| of the annular member 29 extend into edge recesses or apertures 38 in the carrier member flange portion 33 to hold the carrier member 32 against rotation so that the valve member 35 can be rotated relative thereto for screwthreaded adjustment. A laterally movable resilient member 40 comprises a pair of spaced substantially parallel side portions 48 which are in the shape of segments of a circle and which are joined by a downwardly bent trough-like central portion 40 The resilient member 48 has a central aperture through the portion 48 substantially fitting and receiving the valve member 35 and allowing the portion 48 to engage the upper end wall of the valve carrier member 32 adjacent the valve member 35. The side portions 48a engage the abutment 38 thereby to hold the carrier member flange portion 33 against the abutment 3|.

An aperture 4| in the end wall 28 through which the valve member 35 extends is of sub- .adjustmnt thereof as a further means to prevent the hub portion 4', and the reenforcing plate 52;

being secured to the upperside of the diaphragm 58 away from the hub portion 4 A dished, platelike cap member 53 has a peripheral, upturned, continuous flange portion 54 which substantially fits and is received within the flange portion 9 and is sealed thereto by suitable means, such as solder. The cap member 53 has a spaced horizontal portion 55 overlying and parallel to the diaphragm 50 and cooperable with a raised shoulder portion 56 of the reenforcing member 52 to limit, by engagement, outward movement of the ,diaphragm 58. Downward or inward movement of the diaphragm 50 is limited by the engagement-of the plate 5| and the end of the hub portion 4 A helical coil compression spring 51 is held under compression intermediate a second spaced horizontal portion 58 of the platelilre member 53 overlying and parallel to the diaphragm 58 and the reenforcing member 52. A cone-shaped portion 30 of the cap member 53 connects the spaced portions 55, 58 and cooperber 35 and the aperture through the annular member 29 is substantially larger than the tubular portion of carrier member 32 so that the valve member 35 and member 32 are laterally movable and free for guided lateral movement on the abutment 3|. In this manner we provide structure which makes it pos:ible for the valve member '35, automatically upon movement to full closed seating position, to align itself with the valve port I5 due to the sliding of the flange portion 33 on the abutment 3| and of the resilient meinber 48 on the abutment 30. The valve member 35, however, having once been aligned with the port I5, is frictionally held in that position due to the resiliency of the member 40. A helical coil spring 42 is positioned in chamber 5 andhas one end extending into the annular space between the member 29 and the tubular portion of carrier member 32, and seating against the horizontal flange of member 29 to hold it against the shoulder 28 and to continually urge the valve member 35 toward port IS. The other or lower ates with the spaced portion 58 to form a shoulder which acts as a means for locating the upper end of the coil spring 51. The lower end of the spring 51 surrounds and is held in correct operating position by a raised, offset portion 53 of the member 52. A plurality of thrust members 6| have their upper end portions 52 abutting the underside of the reenforcing member 5| and extend downward therefrom through apertures 52' in the hub portion 4 and extension 2 and have their lower ends 63 engaging the upper surface of the end wall 28. The springs 42 and 51 act to maintain the valve carrier member 21 and the reenforcing member 5| continually in engagement with the thrust members 6| so that downward and upward movement of the diaphragm 58 acts respectively to open and close the port l5 to flowof fluid. Adjustment of the relative forces of the springs 42, 51 by the adjustment member I9 determines the fluid pressure necessary on the top of the diaphragm relative to that on the underside of the diaphragm to open the valve port IE to fluid flow. This adjustment controls what is commonly known as the superheat of the valve.

The diaphragm 58 cooperates with the platelike member 1 and the hub portion 4 to form a sealed, pressure responsive, expansible-contractible chamber 65 supplied with fluid pressure from the chamber 5 due to the loose fit of the thrust members 5| in their apertures 62. This loose fit acts as a restricted flow orifice and prevents any sudden fluctuation of pressure which may occur within chamber 5 from being immediately transferred to the chamber 65 and cause the valve to chatter. The cap member 53 cooperates with the diaphragm to form a second pressure responsive, expansible-contractible chamber 68 which is separated from chamber by the diaphragm 50. The chamber 66 is communicatively connected to a bulb element 61 through a conduit 68 sealed, as by solder, within a central aperture 69 of the horizontal portion 58. The chamber 56,

I her 5.

bulb 61 and conduit 68 cooperate to form a sealed system I which contains a quantity of expansible-contractible, volatile fluid so that the fluid pressure varies within chamber 66 in accordance with the temperature of bulb 61. Thequantity of volatile fluid in the system 10 is so proportioned relative to the volume of the system that at temperatures of the bulb 61 substantially greater than the maximum operating temperature of the bulb, the fluid will be in a vapor state and any further increase in temperature of the bulb will cause only a very slight pressure increase in the system 10.due to the effect of the gas laws. This type of charging is better'known to those skilled in the art as gas charging. The advantage of this type of charging is that at evaporator and bulb temperatures substantially above the normal operating temperatures the valve acts to supply liquid refrigerant .to the evaporator to maintain a substantially constant predetermined evaporator pressure to prevent overloading of the compressor, while at evaporator temperatures and consequently bulb temperatures within the normal operating range of the evaporator, the valve acts to supply liquid refrigerant to the'evaporator to maintain liquid refrigerant substantially throughout the entire evaporator for the most efficient operation thereof. The details of this type of operation are well known to those skilled in the art.

It is also well known that in a valve of this type the temperature of the bulbiil must be maintained as the coldest point in-the system H! so that the pressure within the system is substantially that corresponding to the vapor pressure of the liquid at the temperature of the bulb 61. This temperature is above that of the refrigerant in chamber and in the evaporator, and the chamber 66 must therefore be maintained warmer than the chamber 5 to prevent distillation of the liquid from bulb 61' to the chamber 66, which would render the valve inoperative. In the structure shown and described, we utilize the heat of the incoming liquid refrigerant within the an nular chamber H to maintain both of the chambers 65, 66 above the temperature corresponding to the vapor pressure of the refrigerant in cham- It is to be noted that we maintain the neck portion or extenslon2 of the valve casting I connecting the upper and lowerportions thereof, and shown in Fig. 4, as small as possible so that a high resistance path to the flow of heat from chambers 65, B6 to chamber 5 is maintained. In this manner we conserve the heat carried to the chamber H by the incoming warm liquid as long as possible and prevent the temperature of chamber 66 from assuming, evaporator temperature'during a long off cycle of the refrigerating. apparatus.

The heat capacity of theexchange member 3, including that of the fluid within the chamber II, is preferably "high in proportion to that of the valve casing 4, and fluid within the chamber 5, to further prevent the cooling of the chambers 65, 66 to the temperatures of the valve casing 4. By utilizing this structure a single diaand the refrigerating capacity of the valve struc-' of a 'cap member 15. which is screw threaded 'thereinto, as at 16. The inner end ofthe cap member 15 has a recess 11 which receives and limits outward movement of the lower abutment member 44 under influence of the spring 42- Normally the abutment member is heldaway from the bottom wall of the recess 11 by means of an adjusting member 18 which is similar to member IS in that it, has a conical portion 19 which is received in the tapered recess 45! of member 4 and has a screw-threaded portion which cooperates with a threaded portion ofthe cap ,member 15 to position the memberlongitudinally thereof. Suitable packing material ll surrounds the stem portion of theadjusting member 18 to prevent leakage along the member" from the chamber 5. The material 8| is forced in any suitable manner, not shown, against a tapered annular washer'member 82 so that the material 8| is maintained'in intimate, contact with the stem of the member". A shoulder 83 on the member 18 is engageable withthe washer member 82 to limit outward movement of member 18 so that substantially upon engagement of the abutment member 44 with the'bottom of therecess' 'I'l further outward movement of the member 18 is prevented. v The upper end of the spring 42 engages the underside of an end wall 84 of a tubular valve carrier member 85. The member 85 is guided for reciprocal-movement by the inner side walls of the chamber 5 andis moved by.- the pressures within the chambers 65- and acting on the diaphragm 5B and through the members 6!. The end wall 84 has a central aperture therethrough and through which the valve member 35 and its tubular carrier member 32 extend, and the flange portion33 engages and'seats against the top surface of the end wall 84. The flange portion 33 is resiliently held against the wall 84 by the resilient member 40 which has its parallel side portions abutting the under face of an: annular flanged disk 86-and its trough-like portion abutting the member 32. The disk 86 has its flanged portion press-fitted to the circumference of carrier member 85 and is positioned in relative spaced relation to the end wall 84 by .engageme'ntof the flanged portion with a shoulder on the'carrier member 85. The disk 86 has two lugs 81- bent downwardly therefrom toward the end wall-84 which are aligned with and extend into the edge recesses 38 of the flange portion 33 Thelugs 8'! and recesses 38 cooperate similarly to the cars 31 and recesses 38. In the modificatic-n of Fig. 4, the thrust members 6| engage the upper. face of the-annular disk 86 instead of engaging thetop wall of the valve carrier memabut the upper face of the disk member 92 and 3 transmit motion therethrough to the carrier member 21. The member 92 may cant about the boss 30 and any irregularities in the movement of the diaphragm 55 or in the lengths of the thrust members 3l will not be transmitted to the carrier member 21 to cause it to stick or bind in its reciprocal movement. The lower end portions of the thrust members 6", which are positioned within the chamber may have a peripheral recess to receive an endless coil spring 93 which 5 tends to draw the thrust members 3! radially inward so that they frictionally engage the side walls of the apertures 62". A flanged-annular member 94 is similar to member 23 in that it is press-fitted into the interior of the carrier member 21 against an internal shoulder thereof to form -a pairof spaced abutments or shoulders 30, 3| and between which is positioned the flange portion 33 of the second carrier member 32. The portion 33 is held against shoulder 3l by the resilient member 4li which has its parallel side-portions engaging shoulder 30. A pair of 1118s 35' are stamped out of the end wall of the annular member 34 so that they extend into the recesses 33 of the flange portion 33 and cooperate therewith substantially as the ears 35 cooperate with the recesses 33. Fig. 6 shows in detail the flanged annular member 94 and'the valve carrier member 32.

The operation of our apparatus is as follows: The valve shown is particularly adapted for use on a refrigerating system in which the liquid supply line is connected to the inlet boss i2 and the refrigerant evaporator inlet is connected to the outlet boss i3- in communication with passageways l2, l3 respectively. The bulb 51 is preferably secured in good heat exchange relation with the outlet of the evaporator so that'it is sensitive to the temperature of the refrigerant leaving the evaporator. Warm high pressure liquid refrigerant flows from thesource of supply into chamber ll through the strainer member l4 and into passageway l3, giving of! heat to maintain the chambers '55, 55 at a temperature above that of the liquid refrigerant in the evaporator and valve casing 4. Flow through the passageway II to the boss 13' is controlled by means of the valve member 35 cooperating with the valve port I5. The fluid pressure within chamber 5 is transmitted to the chamber 55 through the apertures 52 and increase in pressure within the chamber 65 tends to. move the diaphragm 50 outwardly so that the spring 42 is operable to ber so that said valve may be rotated in saidmove the valve member 35 into valveclosed posi tion. Decrease in temperature of the refrigerant leaving the evaporator is accompanied by a corresponding decrease in temperature of the bulb 61, thereby lowering the pressure within chamber 86 tending to move the valve member 35 to closed position. Decrease in'tempe'rature of the refrigerant in the evaporator is accompanied by a decrease in pressure thereof, and consequently in the chamber 35, tending to move the valve member to open position. The springs 42,

toward open position when the temperature of the bulb 31 is slightly higher than the evaporating temperature of the refrigerant within the evaporator. The valve member 35 will therefore act to maintain the evaporator substantially filled with evaporating liquid refrigerant during compressor operation, in a manner similar to that of prior art thermostaticalliy operated refrigerant flow controlling valves. Enough heat is stored in the exchange member 2, and resistance to heat flow through the extension 2 is great enough so that during the 011" periods of the refrigerating compressor the chambers 55, 53 are not lowered to the temperature of the valve casing 4. The valve member 35 and its tubular carrier member 21 is. frictionally held against the abutment It so 4 that upon initial seating of the conical portion '35 against the valve seat member I! the valve member 35 may move laterally of the carrier member 21 so that it aligns itself with the valve port l5. Upon subsequent operation of the valve member 35 it will maintain itself aligned and in correctly 7 set position so that upon subsequent closing, the

siliently held in adjusted position against a lower shoulder.

It may therefore be seen that the new and novel structure shown and described is a new and improved means for obtaining a self-aligning valve needle and one which is'economieal and simple of manufacture.

This application is a continuation in part of our copending application Serial No. 271,756, filed May 4, 1939, for valves.

What 'is claimed and desired to be obtained by Letters Patent 01- the United States is:

1. In a valve of the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, a valve carrier member within said casing and having reciprocal movement, said carrier member having an annular through said supporting means, means interconnecting said carrier member and said supporting means and operable to prevent rotation of said supporting means relative to said carrier memsupporting means for adjustment relative thereto, and resilient means urging said supporting means against said shoulder, said valve being operable upon said reciprocal movement to control flow through said port, said supporting means being movable laterally'on said shoulder by the engagement of said valve with the wall of said port thereby to align said valve with said I port.

51 have their forces so balanced relative to each other, and to the fluid forces in chambers 65, 55 acting on the diaphragm 50, that during normal operation, the valve member 35 will be moved 2. In a valve of the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, a valve carrier member reciprocal in said casing and having a pair of spaced abutments, one of said abutments facing said port, valve means cooperable with said port for controlling flow of fluid through said passageway and laterally movable on and engaging said one abutment, resilient means interposed between and engaging the other of said abutments and said valve means and being laterally sluftable bodily on said other abutment and said port, said valve means upon initial-seating engagement with the wall of saidport shifting laterally into accurate, alinement therewith and bodily shifting said resilient means to hold, said closing of said port by said valve means.

3. In a valve of the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, a valve carrier member reciprocal in said casing and having a pair of spaced abutments, one of said abutments facing said port, a laterally movable valve member cooperable with saidport for controlling flow of fluid through said passageway and having a shoulder portion positioned between said spaced abutments and in engagement with said one abutment, and a spring disk member having a central aperture therethrough, said vaive member extending through and. substantially fitting said central aperture, said disk member being interposed between the other of said abutments and said shoulder portion and being laterally shiftable bodily on said other abutment, said valve member being laterally movable on said one abutment upon initial engagement with said port, said disk member being laterally shifted on said other abutment by the lateral movement of said valve member, said disk member acting in its lateral shifted position to maintain said 'shoulder portion in engagement with said one abutment and to maintain said valve member in its laterally moved position for all subsequent closing of said port by said valve member.

4. In a valve of the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, said casing having a chamber communicating with said passageway, a tubular valve carrier member reciprocal in said chamber and having an end wall, said end wall tion havingfia pair of recesses receiving said ears, said valve memberextending through and movable relative to said end wall central'aperture, and a spring memberhaving a central aper ture therethrough, said valve member extending through said spring member central aperture, said spring member being interposed between one-of said abutments and said shoulder portion valve means in such alinement for allsubsequent andur'ging said shoulder portioninto engage- -ment with the other of said abutments.

r a 6, In a valve 01 the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, said casing having a cha nber communicating with said passageway Iadja- I cent said port, a tubular carrier member having an end walhsaid end wall having an aperture -therethrough, said carrier member havingla normal diameter internal portion intermediatedts ends and having a reduced diameter internal portionintermediate said end'wall and-said'normal diameter portion, said end wall intermediate said reduced diameter portion and said end wall aperture forming a seating surface, an internal shoulder within said carrier member formed at the intersection of said reduced diameter portion and said normal diameterportion, said carrier member having an enlarged diameter internal portion leading from the end thereof opposite to said end wall to said normal diameter portion, an annular member having a substantially perpendicularly extending side wall, said perpendicular side wall being of less external diameter than said enlarged diameter portion and operable to be press fitted into said normal diameter portion with said annular member positioned against said shoulder, said annular member forming a seating surface facing said first-named seating surface, a valve member extending through said end wall aperture and having a flange portion positioned intermediate said seating surfaces, and means I under stress and abutting one of said seating having a central aperture therethrough, an annular member within and rigid with said tubular member and cooperating with said end wall to form a. pair of spaced abutments, a valve member cooperable with said port for controlling flow of fluid through said passageway and having a shoulder portion positioned between said spaced abutments, said valve member extending through and movable relative to said end wall central aperture, and a spring disk member having a central aperture therethrough, said valve member extending through said disk member central aperture, said disk member being interposed between one of said abutments and said shoulder portion and urging said shoulder portion into engagement with the other of said abutments.

5. In a valve of-the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, said casing having a chamber communicating with said passageway, a tubular valve carrier member reciprocal in said surfaces for holding said flange portion against the other 'of said seating surfaces. 3

7. In a valve of the character described, a casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, said casing having a chamber communicating with said passageway adiacent said port, a tubular carrier member recipro-- cal within said chamber and having an end wall and having a recess 'providing an annular shoulder adjacent said end wall, an annular member having a substantially perpendicularly extending flange, said flange being operable to be press fitted into said recess, said shoulder acting to limit movement of said annular member toward said end wall; said annular member and said end wall cooperating to provide a pair of spaced abutments, a valve member having a Iiange positioned intermediate said spaced abutments and having a portion projecting through said annular member and cooperable with said port for controlling flow of fluid there through,

- and resilient means positioned intermediate said chamber and havingan end wall, said end wall having a central aperturetherethrough, an annular member within and'rigidiwith said tubular member and cooperating with 'saidend wall to form a pair of spaced abutments, said annular 1 member having a pair of upstanding ears, a

tween said spaced abutments, said shoulder perabutments and acting to urge said flange into engagement with one of said abutments.

8. In a. valve of the character described, a'casing having a passageway therethrough for flow of fluid and including a valve port, said casing having a chamber communicating with said passageway and aligned with said port, a valv carrier member guided for longitudinal reciprocal movementin said chamber toward and away from said 7 port and having a pair of spaced annular abutments, a valve supporting member having aflange, said flange beingpositioned intermediate said abutments-and having a recess in its peripheral portion, one of said abutments having a. finger portion extending into said recess and operable to hold said supporting member against rotation within said carrier member, a valve' away from said port, said valve member being operable to be rotated by said tool portion to adjust said valve member relative to said carrier member.-

f 9. In a valve of the character described, 5 casing having a passageway therethrough and including a valve port, awalve carrier member reciprocal in said casing and having a pair of spaced abutments, valve means cooperable with said port for controlling flow of fluid through said passageway and laterally movable on and engazing one of said abutments, resilient means interposed between and engaging the other of said abutments and said valve means and being laterally shiftable bodily on said other abutment and with said valve means for maintaining said valve means in a fixed adjustable lateral position on and in engagement with said one abutment, and meansfor moving said carrier member towardsaid port, said valve means upon initial i seating engagement with the wall of said port shifting laterally into accurate alinement therewith and bodily shifting said resilient means to hold said valve means in such alinement for all subsequent closing of said port by said valve means.

EARNEST J. DILIMAN. WILLIAM E. COWLEY. 

